Live from TIFF, It’s...'Hi Laya'?!
Live from TIFF, It’s...'Hi Laya'?!
Entering the Shelli-verse with exciting film coverage from Toronto!
Hello dear Shellian readers!
I’m super thrilled to be speaking to you through the magic portal today!
My name is Laya—pronounced lie-yuh or lay-uh, named after the Tagalog word for free—and I’ll be covering Toronto International Film Festival 2024 for Hi Shelli!
A little bit about me:
I am a trans, Bakla Filipina & French film writer & filmmaker, with family hailing from the Louisiana Bayou and the Philippine tropics.
I was born and raised in Chicago. Fun Fact: Shelli and I met in line at Sundance earlier this year, only to realize we lived around the corner from one another back home in Chicago!
I was selected to participate in this year’s TIFF Media Inclusion Initiative! This means I get a bunch of exciting press access to all things TIFF, along with support from the festival team. Thanks TIFF!
While this isn’t my first time at a film festival, it is my first time at TIFF and my first time covering a festival. I’m truly honored to be able to connect with you all about my time at the festival while I’m here. It’s also my first time being part of a Press Inclusion program which has been a life-changing opportunity for an early-career writer like myself.
Before this opportunity, I was feeling really lost and uncertain about sharing my writing. Putting your work out there can be humbling, and navigating industries as a trans woman can be especially isolating as it can be hard to find space for folks like you within them.
Because of this, it reminds me that programs like these are vital for the film industry's future. For film journalism and cinema to flourish, marginalized voices are imperative as they breathe new life into the industry. We’re not going anywhere, so we need support from initiatives like this.
I’m grateful to be able to stay with family in Mississauga, just outside of Toronto while I’m here.
The other day, I found my uncle’s huge collection of DVDs that brought back waves of memories.
Years of watching movies as a kid came from visiting Canada and getting to borrow box sets. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bend It Like Beckham, She’s the Man, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days—the greats, truly.
The movies I watched in those years shaped my adolescence, and in one way or another, helped me to find a sense of permission to express myself more freely.
It’s amazing to be back where my aunt and uncle’s love for movies first kickstarted my passion…all while attending my first TIFF.
In my time in school, I studied filmmaking (you can watch my 2017 experimental short film The Ghost Who (Carries/Carried) Me here, under a former name—oops!)
Because I come from a filmmaking background, I often think of film criticism as a practice of being in conversation with other filmmakers. To me, writing about film is as much a dialogue with the world we live in as it is a process of self-discovery.
Through writing about film, I have discovered new aspects of who I am and what stories I’m drawn to.
Films I love (Everything Everywhere All at Once, Lilo & Stitch, When You Left Me on That Boulevard) have opened my heart, shaped my politics, and helped me find my authentic voice. While films I’ve struggled with (many Tarantino films come to mind) have shown me what I don’t like and what I value—while reminding me of the importance of critical analysis.
So, in the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing my thoughts and words on a few films from this year’s TIFF Slate and here is a peek into which ones I’ll be covering!
MY TIFF FILM SELECTS
Anora
From director Sean Baker, Anora is the newest feature from the filmmaker behind The Florida Project and Tangerine. Winner of this year's Palme d'Or at Cannes, Anora follows a Coney Island stripper who enters an exclusive romance with a client, only to have her world turned upside down when she discovers he is the son of a powerful Russian oligarch. In centering a young sex worker's Cinderella story, Anora cuts through the festival chatter as a unique standout—this one’s for the girls.
Emilia Pérez
Emilia Pérez directed by Jacques Audiard, somehow stars Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana, and Karla Sofía Gascón all in the same picture. This pop opera follows the journey of a notorious kingpin (or more like queenpin… slay!) who fakes her death to transition into a woman. This one has gained a lot of attention for being a star-studded genre-bender, but I’m approaching with some hesitance and some hope that cis male director Audiard will get trans storytelling right, while also having something thoughtful to contribute to the canon of trans cinema.
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl from director Rungano Nyoni. The film is a beautiful comedy/drama about a middle-class Zambian family coping with a recent death in the family and their struggle to navigate the family secrets that begin to unearth themselves. Consider me the #1 fan of the generational trauma family drama. I love stories about families struggling to keep themselves together—at the core of stories like these always remains a truth that is deeply human and profound. This film is no exception.
It’s hard to believe I’m already three days into the festival—soon it’ll all be over! I’ll be heading out of the country toward the halfway point of TIFF and hitting the road for a mini-road trip with some friends.
First stop: Detroit! Then back home to Chicago!
Drop me your fav recommendations for places to eat and things to do in both Toronto and Detroit!
I’m so honored to be able to share my thoughts with you all and I can’t wait to chat once again soon.
Signing off with love,
LAYA
If You Liked This Guest Edition of Hi Shelli!
Here’s another you might really fuck with from Laya…
Thank you so much for reading Hi Shelli!
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